Journal #12: Antigone

Anouilh portrays the conflict of obeying leadership or doing what you see as being the right thing to do.  In Thebes, Creon supports obeying leadership and following the laws as the way to achieve happiness.  He argues that the reasons the laws are made are more political than righteous or spiritual, and that they are implemented in order to keep control over the people and keep Thebes peaceful.  Antigone argues that doing the right thing is the only way to achieve happiness, because leaving something undone will haunt you for the rest of your life.  This conflict can also be categorized as youth versus old because Creon (old) argues against Antigone and Ismene (youth) who both hold the same belief that they should ignore the law and do the actions that they view as being the right thing to do.  Creon, while arguing with Antigone, says "Life is nothing more than the happiness that you get out of it " (Anouilh 41).  As the King, it is Creon's job to supply the people with a peaceful environment in order to keep them happy.  He feels that it was his duty, although undesirable, to manipulate the truth of the two brothers around in order to provide the people of Thebes with a martyr in order to keep them happy.  Antigone, in response to this viewpoint, states "What kind of happiness do you see for me?  [...]  Whom do you want me to leave dying, while I turn away my eyes?" (Anouilh 41).  Antigone believes that happiness only comes from making the right choices, ignoring the laws if necessary in order to obey a higher set of morals.  Anouilh creates this conflict of which no side is portrayed as right or wrong in order to appeal to his audience at the time.  The audience consisted of French and German's during the German occupation of France.  Anouilh's portrayal of the difficulties in correctly using power appealed to the German occupiers, while the portrayal of Antigone and the other young characters as rebels who were acting upon higher morals appealed to the oppressed French people.